Firelands Hospital ready for rehab with new unit

Morning Journal/Richard Payerchin
Shenell Hinton, area director for case management and inpatient physical rehabilitation, stands next to the bed in the transitional suite at the new Inpatient Rehabilitation Center of Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky. The suite looks different from a traditional hospital room and patients will stay there to practice daily living skills before leaving the hospital for home. The new unit will open Dec. 29.

SANDUSKY — Getting better after an illness or injury might get a lot easier for patients in a new rehabilitation unit, said Firelands Regional Medical Center officials.
This week, the hospital unveiled its new Inpatient Rehabilitation Center, which occupies the entire fifth floor of the hospital’s Main Campus at 1111 Hayes Ave., Sandusky. The rehab center will relocate there from the hospital’s South Campus, 1912 Hayes Ave.
The 25,826-square-foot unit was designed for up to 34 people to stay on the unit while relearning skills that will allow them to return home after illness or injury. The first patient will arrive Dec. 29 to cut the ribbon to officially open the new unit.
“Our staff has always had this state-of-the-art ability,” said Shenell Hinton, area director for case management and inpatient physical rehabilitation. “Now we have the facility to match that.”
Several years ago, the hospital began renovations that included construction of its main patient tower. Its fifth floor remained empty and unfinished for future use.
In February, Firelands officials hosted a tour to show how the concrete floors and uncovered duct work looked before construction.
“This is an amazing ‘after,’ ” said Martin Tursky, president and chief executive officer of Firelands.
The project cost $6.05 million. Building the new unit was cheaper and faster than renovating the existing one, with the hospital saving about $1.2 million in cost for new construction instead of renovation, Tursky said.
The old space will be used for potential expansion of services of Firelands or other organizations that use space within the hospital’s facilities.
Rehab patients at the South Campus were driven to the Main Campus for tests and doctor visits, so transportation time for patients and doctors will decrease.
Any rehab patients at the new unit will be an elevator ride away from the emergency room, surgical suites, pharmacy, radiology, respiratory and other acute care areas of Firelans’ Main Campus, the officials said.
At the South Campus, the medical staff sometimes would have to call 911 for an ambulance to take a patient to the Main Campus, Hinton said.
“Really for our patients, it’s the transportation that’s key,” she said. Tursky agreed that minutes count whether patients need emergency care or the physicians are trying to make the most of their work day.
The new unit is designed with one goal as patients work at least three hours day.
“This is a higher level of intense acute rehabilitation with the goal of getting people back home,” Tursky said. He also credited the efforts of rehab team members Dr. Christopher Parnell, Dr. Sonya Kuhar, Dr. Vicenta Gaspar-Yoo and Dr. Nick DenBesten, along with Physical and Occupational Therapy Director Shelly Jordan and Speech-Language Pathology Director Lisa Horchler.
The average age of patients is 70 and the hospital staff said they anticipate serving the seniors who may be recovering from surgeries or ailments such as strokes. However, the facility is built to accommodate patients age 18 or older.
The hospital rooms are designed to be somewhat larger than standard rooms due to the length of stay, Tursky said. Along with patient beds, the rooms private showers for patients and extra have space for family and for nursing staff, he said.
Nurses also will use laser scanners and wall-mounted monitors as an extra measure to reduce errors matching patients and doses of appropriate medicine, Tusky said.
The unit also has a fully functional kitchen and a washer and dryer for patients to do their own laundry.
The practice bathroom also does not have grab bars because most people don’t have those in their homes. Patients may try different pieces of equipment that help them use the bathroom, bathe and shower.
The unit has a group dining room with space for six tables with chairs. Patients will have a social dining group and a therapeutic dining group for those who need help with motor skills to feed themselves.
Along the walls, there is a bench in front of a photographic mural showing a park. In another alcove, a small coffee table is set between two chairs to simulate a living room.
“Everything that we take for granted on a daily basis, the patient has to relearn those tasks,” Hinton said.
The walls are adorned with photographs of scenes around Sandusky, Cedar Point and Erie County. Many of the pictures show people who have artificial limbs or use wheelchairs or other devices to help their mobility to inspire patients, the hospital officials said.
“Patients will do this again, despite what they’ve been through,” Hinton said.
The unit features LED lighting with suspended colored fusion panels and some ceiling mounted lights that change color over time.
Near the unit waiting area, there also is a water feature donated by Gaspar-Yoo and her husband, Dr. Bo Yoo, a neurosurgeon at the hospital. It is one of six water features and fountains around the hospital.
The effect is meant to be welcoming without being overstimulating or confusing for patients.
“It all came together, it is beautiful,” Tursky said.
The new unit has not held patients yet, but one former patient already is convinced of its benefits.
In March 2010, Sandusky resident Mike Drumm was left paralyzed with a syndrome in which his own immune system was attacking his nervous system.
He began rehabilitation at Firelands, but had a relapse that required a stay in the Cleveland Clinic intensive care unit.
“When I left rehab for Cleveland, I said I’d be back,” Drumm recounted. “Most of the nurses didn’t believe me.”
Drumm returned to Firelands for his physical therapy and has recovered his mobility. Now he is a volunteer on the unit.
“The people here at Firelands — the therapists, the nurses, the doctors — it’s not a job, it’s a passion,” Drumm said. “They don’t just do it for the pay, they do it because they truly, truly care about the patients.”
For more information, see: www.firelands.com.